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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Wednesday, 30 June 2004) . . Page.. 3062 ..

identified and monitored this problem. We have also spoken today about the terrible impacts of mental ill health. We need to start applying our research and programs and helping not just young people but the whole community with health and education programs. It is time we started to prioritise suicide and self-harm prevention and to move the talking into action, so that we have some positive outcomes for everybody in the community.

MRS DUNNE (4.11): It is very timely that we have this debate today because the problems associated with metal health in the community are increasing. I think some of the significant figures that have been talked about today in the chamber require the community as a whole to act very positively and very quickly. The most telling and the most damaging figure is the one in paragraph (2) of Ms MacDonald’s motion—that almost 15 per cent of admissions to public hospital emergency departments are as a result of self-inflicted injuries.

Mr Smyth: I question that.

MRS DUNNE: I know that Mr Smyth has questioned that but, even if the level is lower than that, the message is that we are doing something wrong in our mental health processes.

I would like to refer to the experiences of someone close to my family who from time to time presents at accident and emergency as a result of self-harm. This is a young person in their 20s who has the prospect of a fine academic career in front of them if they could get their life in order. However, the person is a serial presenter.

One of the things that is obvious to me and members of my family who have been helping this person through their current situation is there is no coordination. From time to time members of my family spend a lot of hours in accident and emergency because this person is there and needs help. What happens is that the resident psychiatrist, the psychiatric registrar, the mental health crisis team or someone else comes to see them and, for the most part, after some consultation they are packed up and sent on their way.

I contacted this person to see whether they were comfortable with my raising this matter in the debate today. I would like to assure members that I am speaking with the consent and, in fact, the enthusiasm of the person concerned because that person is so distressed by the lack of service that is being received.

The mental health crisis team says that this person needs someone to case manage them. This person has applied for a case manager but that application has been rejected. As a result, this person is receiving disparate treatment. They have a GP; they have a psychiatrist who prescribes but does not talk; they have contact with the member of the mental health crisis team who happens to be on at the time. This is not to criticise but there is no continuity—these people are there to deal with a crisis. This person also has contact with the psychiatric registrars of the hospitals. But this is not a coordinated service. This person is begging the system for coordinated services.

No matter what this figure is—whether it is 15 per cent or some lesser or larger figure—this person is part of that statistic. I know what impact that is having on this young life, on their family, on their extended circle of friends. This is a devastating situation where

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